House Republicans issued a subpoena on Friday seeking to compel the Internal Revenue Service to hand over documents related to targeting of conservative tea party groups and possibly others.

The subpoena is the clearest signal yet of some GOP lawmakers’ frustration at what they perceive to be the IRS’s slow response to their requests for information following reports that the IRS targeted conservative tea party groups for special scrutiny as they sought tax-exempt status.

GOP lawmakers also think the administration is trying to play down the controversy, pointing to President Barack Obama’s recent charge that Republicans are focused on “phony” scandals. Some Democratic lawmakers say liberal groups also were swept up in the IRS net.

IRS officials said they’re responding appropriately to Congress, given the broad scope of the requests that lawmakers have made, as well as strict legal protections against release of taxpayer-specific information.

At a hearing Friday, Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.) accused IRS officials of “slow-rolling” the agency’s response to lawmakers’ document requests. He also charged that IRS officials are blacking out far too much information in the pages they are providing.

Mr. Issa said the IRS has delivered only about 12,000 pages, out of 64 million or so that are potentially relevant.

IRS interim leader Daniel Werfel pushed back, saying the agency was working hard to respond to lawmakers’ voluminous requests. The agency expected to deliver about 70,000 pages to various lawmakers by Friday, he said. He said the agency has put 70 lawyers on the task of preparing responses. Many are engaged in the time-consuming process of screening documents for taxpayer-sensitive information.

The agency also said in a letter on Friday that only about 1.64 million pages likely will prove to be potentially relevant, and many of those ultimately would prove to be “nonresponsive” to congressional inquiries.

“I continue to strongly disagree with the characterization…that the IRS has attempted, in any way, to impede the on-going investigations being conducted by [Mr. Issa’s] committee,” Mr. Werfel wrote. “I remain committed to working with the Congress and the ongoing investigations, and to restoring public trust in our nation’s tax system.”

Mr. Issa said that Treasury Department officials should take over the response process.
“We have received the subpoena from Chairman Issa and our general counsel’s office is reviewing it,” a Treasury spokeswoman said. “Treasury is committed to cooperating with the committee’s review, and we will continue to do so.”

The Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate Finance Committee provided some support for Mr. Issa’s criticism, saying in a statement that “while we are encouraged with some of the changes within the agency since our investigation began, the IRS needs to be more cooperative in providing us with the documents needed to fully carry out this investigation.”

Chairman Max Baucus (D., Mont.) and ranking Republican Orrin Hatch of Utah added that the IRS has provided over 20,000 pages of documents in response to their request, but has not provided most of the information requested by the Finance Committee, including “key emails and documents belonging to the relevant decisions makers both in the IRS and elsewhere in government.”

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Washington Wire is one of the oldest standing features in American journalism. Since the Wire launched on Sept. 20, 1940, the Journal has offered readers an informal look at the capital. Now online, the Wire provides a succession of glimpses at what’s happening behind hot stories and warnings of what to watch for in the days ahead. The Wire is led by Reid J. Epstein, with contributions from the rest of the bureau. Washington Wire now also includes Think Tank, our home for outside analysis from policy and political thinkers.